A course in miracles,
Self-inquiry.
Nothing real can be threatened,
Nothing unreal exists.
A course in miracles sums up the whole course in this way.
Nothing real can be threatened,
Nothing unreal exists.
The ACIM self-inquiry asks the question,
What part of my being can be threatened?
We begin by noting that we have a physical body and an ego.
Our ego consists of emotions,
Thoughts,
Senses,
And perceptions.
The process of self-inquiry moves through each of these,
Asking the question,
Can it be threatened?
Who am I?
We have a physical body and it changes.
It moves,
It sits,
It gets tired,
And we rest the body.
It can be tense or it can be relaxed.
Our body is impermanent.
The course in miracles says our body is a learning device and a communication device through which our higher self,
The Holy Spirit,
Works and moves in the physical world.
We ask ourselves,
Can my physical body be threatened?
We have to answer,
Yes,
Our physical body can be threatened in a multitude of ways.
By natural disasters,
Like floods,
Fires,
And earthquakes.
Through accidents,
By human error,
By intentional acts of harm,
And more.
But,
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our physical body can be threatened,
The course tells us that our physical body is not real.
The course then proceeds to say,
Nothing unreal exists,
Therefore,
We are led to conclude that our physical body does not exist.
Our physical body does not exist.
So who are we?
We have an ego that is made up of emotions,
Thoughts,
Senses,
And perceptions.
Let's process the ACIM self-inquiry moving through each of these.
We have emotions and feelings.
Our emotions change from moment to moment.
We shift from sadness to joy.
We might be angry or happy,
Fearful or frustrated.
We may feel anxiety or peace,
Pity or compassion.
So we ask ourselves,
Can our emotions be threatened?
Yes,
Our emotions can be threatened,
Through fear and guilt,
Injustice,
Conflict and criticism,
And in many other ways.
But,
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our emotions can be threatened,
The course tells us again that our emotions are not real.
We are then told that nothing unreal exists,
Therefore,
We are led to conclude that our emotions do not exist.
Our emotions do not exist.
Ask yourself,
Who am I?
Our ego has an intellect that thinks.
It is one of our devices for learning.
It is employed to perceive and analyze our world.
With the Holy Spirit,
We can learn to control it and guide it.
However,
Our thoughts change.
Our thoughts are impermanent.
We can think of something one moment and something else the next.
Our thoughts do fluctuate.
Our minds can change in an instant.
Sometimes our thinking is correct,
Other times it is wrong.
Our thoughts may even conflict with one another,
Or be at odds with our feelings and desires.
So,
Now we ask ourselves,
Can our thoughts be threatened?
Yes,
Our thoughts can be threatened in a variety of ways.
Through learning,
Research,
Or by another person.
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our thoughts can be threatened,
We should conclude that our thoughts are not real,
And if nothing unreal exists,
Thoughts come and go,
And thoughts do not exist.
Who are we?
We have senses that provide information for us from the physical world.
Sight,
Sound,
Touch,
Taste,
And smell.
Each of these senses can be threatened in different ways.
We can lose our sight,
Have difficulty hearing,
And we can lose our taste,
Our smell,
Or our touch.
But,
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if each of our senses can be threatened,
We should conclude that our senses are not real,
And if nothing unreal exists,
Logic again leads us to resolve our senses do not exist.
Our ego,
Through our senses,
Perceives and analyzes the world.
These perceptions can change from time to time.
It can perceive something one way in the past,
And look at it differently now.
Two people can observe the same event,
And perceive it,
And interpret it,
Differently.
So,
Now we ask ourselves,
Can our perceptions be threatened?
Yes,
Our perceptions can be threatened,
Over time,
Or by another person,
Viewing differently.
But,
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our perceptions can be threatened,
We can determine that our perceptions are not real,
And if nothing unreal exists,
Our perceptions do not exist.
So,
The ACIM self-inquiry tells us that our physical body and our ego do not exist.
Our physical body and our ego do not exist.
Who are we then?
We are centers of consciousness,
Created as our Father,
Our Creator,
Our Source,
Created us,
Perfect,
Pure,
Innocent,
Whole,
Eternal.
We are love,
And we extend our love,
Our Creator's love,
To all we come in contact with as best we can.
Each of us is a focus or point of pure intelligence,
A center of consciousness that is the inner essence of our being,
One with our Father,
One with our Source.
It is the permanent part of us that is able to say,
I am as my Father created me.
We can visualize our Father,
Our Source,
As a vast ocean of light and life.
This ocean of life that surrounds us seems like a vast benevolent white light,
And as it shines,
It appears to grow brighter and brighter until it seems to shine right through us.
As it passes through us,
We glow,
And we begin to radiate this light as well.
As you begin to glow,
Your awareness expands in all directions,
From all sides,
From above and below.
Let it grow,
By trusting it as a child trusts an ideal parent,
Until you feel the quiet joy of being alive and provided for by life itself,
By our Source,
Until you have a greater insight into the presence of life in you,
Until you know that we are one with our Father.
We are one with each other,
One with our Source.
We are perfect love,
And you comprehend we are one with this ocean of light and life.
We are one with our Father,
One with each other,
One with our Source.
This is the part of us that is real.
This is the part of us that cannot be threatened.
This is the part of us that is as our Father created us.
Now rest in this knowledge for a while.
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our physical body can be threatened,
Our physical body is not real.
Nothing unreal exists,
Therefore our physical body does not exist.
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our emotions can be threatened,
The Course tells us again,
Our emotions are not real.
Nothing unreal exists,
Therefore our emotions do not exist.
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our perceptions can be threatened,
We can determine that our perceptions are not real.
And if nothing unreal exists,
Our perceptions do not exist.
If nothing real can be threatened,
And if our thoughts can be threatened,
Our thoughts are not real.
If nothing unreal exists,
Thoughts come and go and do not exist.
So the ACIM self-inquiry tells us that our physical body and our ego do not exist.
We are perfect love,
One with our Father,
One with each other,
One with our Source.
Perfect love casts out fear.
If fear exists,
Then there is not perfect love,
But only perfect love exists.
If there is fear,
It produces a state that does not exist.
Nothing real can be threatened,
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
